Vermont Wineries
You usually don't think of wine when you think of Vermont. You might think of maple syrup, cheese or cider. But, wine? Lately however, Vermont has become a great place to make some wonderful wines. And, most of Vermont's wineries are open to the public for tours and even to hold events, like weddings.
The Snow Farm Winery in South Hero, in the middle of Lake Champlain, was Vermont's first commercial vineyard and winery. Started in 1997, they conduct private tours, wine tasting's, weddings and even sponsor a summer concert series.
For something a little different, Ottoquechee Valley Winery has dreamed up some pretty unique wines. People are talking about the wine they make from Vermont-grown Bartlett pears and their "Autumn Harvest" made from Vermont apples and Montmorency cherries. They also make a Vermont Apple Wine with tart green apples. They aren't shy about trying new things, like making their "Midnight Gold" wine from rhubarb and honey.
That rhubarb idea seems to be catching on. The Grandview Winery in East Calais makes a very nice rhubarb wine and several fruit wines. They even make dandelion, blueberry and raspberry wines. They also put up wines from elderberries, pears and cherries. If you want to stick with the more traditional wines, they also have a Foch red wine and a Seyval white.
The Putney Mountain Winery in Putney makes their Vermont Apple Cider Champagnes from locally grown apples. And, the Flag Hill Farm in Vershire have gone one step further and they make a Vermont brandy they call Pomme de Vie. It's made by slow fermenting and barrel aging the apples.
If you would rather stick with the non-alcoholic version, there are still plenty of farms with cider presses and mills making good old Vermont apple cider. Cider is big business in Vermont. There is so much demand for Cold Hollow Cider Mill's cider that they have to keep the cider press going year round. And they make their cider the old-fashioned way: with a rack and cloth press from the 1920s. They're in Waterbury Center and are happy to let you watch them make their cider.
There's no end to what Vermonters can do with the abundance of apples they have. Poke around long enough and you'll find someone making just about anything from them. We've had apple cider doughnuts, apple cider jelly, hot spiced cider and even apple cider sauce.
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